AirBnB December Performance

AirBnB - December 2018

In our fourth month operating an AirBnB home we were cash-flow positive (that's two months in a row!)  Nightly rates are improving.  I was successful at filling a few vacant days by tinkering with rates.  Often if we are in-town and have a vacancy, I will lower rates as the vacant day approaches to try to get the house booked.  For example, I had a 3 day gap in mid-December.  Rates started at $79, which I gradually lowered until I picked up a booking at $49/night for two of those nights.  With the cleaning fee, that booking earned us $165 that we otherwise would have missed out on.

Financial Performance

Occupancy Rate:  90% (3 days unbooked)

Payments Received:  $2,886

Expenses:  $399

Net Income:  $2,487

My Frugal Miser - December Expenses: $7,294

December was another fairly expensive month.  Fortunately, I'm mostly finished furnishing our new house.  That was a major expense for 2018.

• I had new brakes installed on my car; I also spent a lot on gas with all the Amazon deliveries I made.  Good thing gas prices are super low.
• Food spending was high.  We had family visit for Christmas so this category includes spending for several additional people.
• I had to replace a broken crown - over $800 after insurance.  Dental care can be expensive!

December Expenses:  $7,294

$434 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$86 Bank Fees
$0 Charity
$0 Clothing

$0 Computer

$530 Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets) 

$769 Food

$319 Gifts Given

$1,843 Household/Mortgage Payment/Home Repair

$153 Health and Dental Insurance

$0 Investment Expense
$11 Interest Expense*

$808 Medical/Dental

$0 Miscellaneous

$9 Personal Care

$0 Subscriptions

$1,819 Taxes (Quarterly Tax Payment)
$31 App Jobs Expenses (tolls, car washes, etc.)
$0 Unreimbursed Employee Expenses

$390 Utilities

$94 Vacation

*Interest expense includes student loans.  As the rate is below 2%, I am completely comfortable paying the interest each month and investing the money that I would otherwise use to pay off this loan.  

My Frugal Miser - December Income: $12,151

My income in December was strong.

• Most of my work was delivering for Amazon.  Several days Amazon offered higher than normal rates because of higher volume.
• One rental property is vacant; everything else is occupied with rent paid.
• I had the best AirBnB month yet.  
• My investment account was up.  

December Income: $12,151

($22) Mystery Shopping
$0 Meeting Jobs
$0 Reimbursed Job Expenses
$0 Gig Apps (Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Doordash)
$3,062 Amazon Deliveries
$6,205 Rental Income
$2,888 AirBnB Income
$18 Interest Income

$0 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value:  $3,356

Notes:  

• I don't include transactions in my retirement accounts.  This includes rental income, dividends and capital gains and losses.

AirBnB November Performance

AirBnB - November 2018

In our third month operating an AirBnB home we were cash-flow positive.  Nightly rates are moving higher (still have a ways to go I think).  I did have 3 available days that were not rented.  This is bound to happen, but in December I am playing around with rates on these orphan days to try to get a booking.  See, what happens is I will get a multi-day booking that might end on a Saturday, and then have another multi-day booking that begins on a Tuesday.  Getting that Sunday and Monday booking has been a bit of a challenge.  So far in December, I have managed to fill 4 "orphan" days by lowering rates just for those days.

I have a list of large projects (new water heater, new HVAC, new siding, etc.) that will need to be done over time to maintain this old house.  It's nice being able to defer these expenses so that I generate some cash flow.  The plan for now is to hold off on big projects during the busy season (January-June) and use the slower summer months to make improvements.

Financial Performance

It's just my third month, and I am cash-flow positive!

Occupancy Rate:  76.7% (4 days blocked by me, 3 days vacant, 23 days booked)

Payments Received:  $1,670

Expenses:  $1,543

Net Income:  $127

Monthly expenses will be much lower in the future.  In November, I spent $453 on bills.  This includes electricity, water, Sling TV, trash and lawn service.  I also spent $250 on cleaning service.  The roughly $800 remaining was spent on supplies like extra linens, and this is the part that will ease up a good bit.